RU Ready Civics Fair: Middle School Edition
Mission: A civic engagement initiative, the mission of RU Ready and this Civics Fair Toolkit is to provide students with the motivation and the civic, political, and expressive tools they need to address public problems in their community.
Purpose: The RU Ready Digital Civics Fair Toolkit is intended to help educators and students host their own Civics Fairs while meeting New Jersey educational standards. Thank you to the New Jersey State Bar Foundation for their partnership on this effort.
RU Ready, Evidence-Based Approach: RU Ready is rooted in research. This research encourages us to reach out to young people and focus our efforts on fostering well-rounded and active citizens. Additionally, the emphasis on “active citizenship” is reflected in the New Jersey Core Curricular Content Standards (Standard 6.3), underscoring the importance of offering instruction targeting civics education.
Updated 2023: As of 2023 and in response to changing civics curriculum standards in New Jersey, the RU Ready Civics Fair materials have been updated to include materials suitable for middle school students. On the following pages you will encounter multiple versions of the same material or activity. You will find the grade levels at the end of each downloadable resource’s title.
Civics Fair Stations
Build Your Civics Fair
Learn more about how to use this toolkit as well as the evidence-based research we follow to create our RU Ready programs!
Getting Political Station
Offering resources on your community’s local officials, election deadlines, and tips for getting involved locally, the Getting Political station provides opportunities for shepherding political engagement.
Paying Attention Station
Whether students participate in political trivia or learn their constitutional rights, the Paying Attention Station offers interactive games to test political knowledge.
Speaking Out Station
Fostering reflection and engagement, the Speaking Out Station aims to link student passions to broader activism.
Volunteering Station
Linking service learning to greater civic engagement, the Volunteering Station aims to do a public good for a community specific cause.
Instructional Videos
Walk through the RU Ready Civics Fair with our instructional video series.
Questions About the Toolkit?
Contact Elizabeth Matto (ematto@eagleton.rutgers.edu) or Jessica Ronan-Frisch (jronan@eagleton.rutgers.edu) for more information.